Key takeaways:

• Voislav Torden, a Russian neo-Nazi leader, was sentenced to life in prison for war crimes committed in Ukraine.
• The Finnish court found him guilty of four counts, including murder and mutilation, stemming from a 2014 attack.
• This case marks the first conviction of its kind in Finland regarding the Ukraine conflict.
• Torden plans to appeal against the ruling, which he has consistently denied.

A Finnish court has sentenced Russian national Voislav Torden to life imprisonment for committing war crimes against Ukrainian soldiers in 2014. Found guilty on four counts, Torden, a leader of the far-right paramilitary group Rusich, was involved in a brutal attack that left multiple Ukrainian soldiers dead, including acts of mutilation following the ambush. The court determined that while Torden was not responsible for every aspect of a specific ambush that resulted in 22 deaths, his direct involvement in war crimes was evident.

The charges included leading an ambush in the Luhansk region, which involved significant brutality. In its verdict, the court highlighted Torden's role in killing a wounded soldier and an incident where derogatory images of the victim were shared online. According to BBC, he was also found guilty of orchestrating violence against Ukrainian military personnel, despite being acquitted of one charge due to insufficient evidence.

This ruling is notable as it signifies Finland's commitment to addressing international war crimes, being the first of its kind in this context. Ukraine's prosecutor general called this verdict a “key milestone” in the fight against impunity for such crimes reported Al Jazeera.

In addition, the court proceedings marked a significant step in international law, showcasing Finland's application of “universal jurisdiction.” Torden, who had been detained since July 2023 after being arrested at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, had been denied extradition to Ukraine over concerns regarding his potential treatment there according to The New York Times. The Russian government has criticized the verdict, describing it as politically motivated and expressing deep outrage at the ruling.